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RANDOM RANTS ABOUT THE CANUCKS: A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS
by Guest Columnist, Tracy Dunlop

While many feel sad for Felix Potvin being booed by the home club, there are different ways to look at it. On one side, you have those that prefer to be positive around the team, regardless of the performance. I'll call them the "pockets half full" group. I wonder if many were part of the record breaking crowds drawn in the last 4 years (10,500-14,500) that valiantly cheered on the product that was substituted in lieu of a team. On the other side (pockets half empty) are the fans that demand value for their money (hard earned or not). I belong to the latter.

GM's and owners have to be sharp to the point of ruthlessness in order to keep their teams alive. Their job is to fill seats...repeatedly. Yes Virginia, there is a bottom line. We can tie all the emotion we want to our team, Canadian teams, and the game itself...but the cold hard fact is that it's all about $$$ at this level of sport.

So I'll pay ticket prices, the service charges (THAT is a whole other rant in itself) the $8 beers, and the $15 parking to see my team. They are competing with many other activities for my discretionary income/entertainment dollar, and I choose to spend on them because I hope to be entertained.

Now, WHO is going to tell me I can't complain when I see a substandard product?

They say, "so don't go and pay to see it. Spend your money somewhere else." That's what i've been doing for the last 4 years! and if Burke had not made the improvements he did, myself and many others would STILL BE SPENDING SOMEWHERE ELSE! Get it yet? What do you think would happen if that were the case for another say...4 or 5 years?

The Portland/Houston/Las Vegas Canucks, that's what.

We don't have the population base to fill the rink with "Ballard" product on the ice.

So for all those who shed a tear for Felix (or any others guilty of sub-par performance), try to think of them as passengers on the bus back to mediocrity. They can make a stop in Kansas and practice some more, move to another team's bus, or earn their way to the front seat. Because if the ride gets too slow for the paying fans, they'll opt for dinner and a movie instead of a game, the cheerleaders alone can't afford to keep filling the tank, and the driver is gonna drop a quarter in the toll booth and head south where it's cheaper to drive.

http://www.nhlfixit.com

Editor's note:

Felix Potvin, now playing for the Los Angeles Kings, has had many recent shutouts and seems to have been resurrected from the dead, helping LA move back into playoff contention.